


Hide and Seek

by Might_suck_but_thats_ok



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Asexual Pidge | Katie Holt, Barista Lance (Voltron), Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Coran is a professor, Fake Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Homophobia, Hunk stress bakes, In the Beginning, Keith works at Petco, Lance has a crazy ex boyfriend, Langst, M/M, Mostly Fluff, Multi, Orphan Keith, Pining Lance (Voltron), Polyamory, Sad Lance (Voltron), Shiro's parents aren't accepting, Soccer mom Keith, but then they actually get together, non-binary Pidge
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-20
Updated: 2018-08-25
Packaged: 2018-10-21 09:17:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10682325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Might_suck_but_thats_ok/pseuds/Might_suck_but_thats_ok
Summary: Lance babysits... a lot, and they love to play hide and seek.In which Keith finds Lance in a refrigerator and Shiro saves a suicidal 7 year old.Shiro plays along and Keith just doesn't understand what the fuck is going on anymore. And for the first time in awhile, Lance does something right (on accident).





	1. Chapter One: Keith

**Author's Note:**

> Sooo me and my sister were just fucking around, coming up with weird scenarios of our Keith and Lance would meet... and this happened. Hopefully you find it just as funny as we did because only honestly, this made us laugh.
> 
> We will update regularly, so you don't have to worry about waiting a full month before getting another chapter. I hate it when people do that, so I will make sure to NOT do that. 
> 
> So uh, yeah. Enjoy :)

“Why the fuck Ikea though?” I huff in irritation, letting my boyfriend drag me inside the oversized building with its oversized furniture and appliances. We are going to get lost, and it won't be my fault. There have been countless times when I got lost in stores like this, and a few times I had to go up to the front and ask for help because I had been stupid enough to leave my phone at home. 

“For furniture, duh.” Shiro smirked, glancing sideways at me. 

“I know that, I’m not fucking stupid… but Ikea? Really? This place is expensive as hell!” I retorted. The store wasn’t busy, so my voice carried a lot further; my face turning red when I see a few people glance over at us. 

“Just because you can’t afford any of this doesn’t mean I can’t. We agreed that you wouldn’t complain about this, so please, don’t argue with me. You aren’t going to win.” Shiro said firmly, guiding me past the beds and towards the tables. Yesterday night, we had ‘talked heatedly’ (as Shiro likes to call it) for hours about how much we would spend. Because I, for one, don't want Shiro to spend all of his money on furniture we need for our new apartment. I am just starting my second year in college, so I’m basically broke. I feel a little more than guilty about letting Shiro pay for most of what we needed, but there isn't much I can do about it. I just got a job at the local Petco, taking care of all of the animals. It’s not great, but it's not bad either. I get to pet the small hamsters and hold the homeless cats until they're adopted. I'm saving up everything I earn, and even though it isn't a lot, it helps. It makes me feel like I’m contributing to our relationship. 

“Keith? You listening?” Shiro asks, poking my arm. 

I swat his hand away, “Sorry, what was that?”

“I was asking you if you liked this one.” Shiro repeated patiently, tapping the table in front of us. 

It’s a dark stained, wooden coffee table with only three legs. You know, all bunched in the middle.

I scrunch my nose and Shiro laughs, “I'll take that as a no.”

We continue walking through the cold as fuck store, random kids passing by (they actually all look very similar) while we look for a different table. 

“I'm tired of looking at tables,” I tell him with an irritable sigh. None of them looked good. 

“But we just started.” Shiro said in a ‘are you serious right now’ voice. 

He doesn't protest, however, when I steer us towards the kitchen things, “I don't wanna just look for a specific thing. Can we just wander around until we find something we wa-”

Before I can finish, a kid trips over Shiro's leg and goes sprawling across the hard floor. 

“Sowwy Mister,” The kid mutters with teary eyes. 

Shiro kneels beside the kid. Why the shit nuggets are there so many kids. 

“Are you okay?” Shiro asks gently. The kid nods before he helps him into a sitting position to inspect his knees. “No injuries, so I think you're good.”

Another kid runs around the corner, this one a bit taller and older looking. “C’mon Benji! We gotta find ‘em!” She said excitedly, ignoring me and Shiro completely. 

“Right!” He exclaims before they run off together. 

“I'm almost too scared to ask,” Shiro says quietly. I nod in agreement. We continue where we left off, although a bit more wary of small, running meat sacks, as we make our way to the dishwashers. 

“This one looks good,” Shiro comments, bending down to check the tag. I didn’t even want to look at the price. I’m sure if I did, my eyes would just melt from their sockets. 

I hoist myself onto the counter, “Looks like a dishwasher to me.”

“Har har. Look at me. Keith the edgelord.” Shiro mutters before turning to another dishwasher. I swing my feet as I notice more and more kids. They are just everywhere. I literally saw one kid pull another out of a cabinet. Do they just not have parents? Was tumblr not kidding about people getting lost and ending up living here? I’m growing more and more concerned, but Shiro leads me away, after noting which generic dishwasher we’re getting. 

“Shiro,” My tone causes him to stop to look at me “how the literal fuck are there so many kids?”

He laughs before he keeps walking, “People have kids, Keith. And they take them places. I know this seems like a radical notion, but try and see if you can wrap your head around it.” I roll my eyes. My boyfriend is great and all, but he is so salty sometimes. 

I let it go (this is not the time to break out singing ‘Frozen’). We reach the refrigerators and Shiro once more takes over searching for the one we are getting. There seem to be less kids here. Maybe Shiro was right. It’s not that uncommon, but that doesn't mean I like it. 

“Keith, go look at that one for me.”

“Why can’t you do it?” I ask as I move over to it. 

He doesn't answer. He doesn't need to. We both know I'm going to do it anyways. I mean, a hot fucking guy asks you to do something, you know you are going to do it. 

I open the fridge door and see a wide eye’d boy staring right back at me. I yelp, jumping back into Shiro’s chest, as I slam the door shut. I stand there for a second, processing what I just saw, before I open it again. His arms and legs are bent at an angle that looks extremely uncomfortable, and I’m struck by the prettiest blue eyes I have ever seen, besides Shiro’s of course. 

“Can you close the fridge again please? I can't let them find me.” He asks almost pleadingly, and I watch as Shiro reaches over my shoulder, and closes it for me. I push his arm away, opening the goddamn door for the third time. 

“Is this why there are a shit ton of kids here? Are you playing hide and seek?” 

His eyebrows scrunch up in confusion, “A ‘shit-ton’? There’s only twelve of them.”

My jaw drops. “What do you mean, ‘only’?”

Shiro puts a hand on my shoulder, and I look over my shoulder, an amused smile on his face. “Please, tell me they aren’t yours,” Shiro interjects for the first time. 

The guy laughs. “Nah man. I’m just babysitting.”

“For who? The little old lady who lives in a shoe?” Shiro whispers in my ear. 

I try to compose myself. “So you're just letting them run around, with no supervision? I just saw one of them eat a stale jellybean.”

He shrugs, “They can pretty much look after themselves, I’m just here to provide the entertainment.” 

I look over my shoulder as pure child laughter floats to us. The guy frantically tries to shut the door, that I’m still holding open. Thankfully for this guy, Shiro is more sympathetic than me, and shuts the door. A muffled ‘thank you’ comes from the fridge. Just in time too. The kid who Shiro had helped, along with two other kids, come bouncing around the corner. 

“Oh hello mister!” He says excitedly. 

“Hi there Benji. What are you up to?” Shiro grins cheekily. 

“We are looking for our Uncle L-”

“Have you seen ‘em?” The other kid chimes in. 

“He’s tall-”

“No momma calls him ‘lanky’,” the little girl corrects, shoving a hand over Benji’s mouth. 

He pulls it off angrily, “Well fine then, you tell him. But you aren't getting any of my candy!”

How old are these fucking kids? Shiro is having the time of his life. He watches them in amusement while Benji and the little girl argue. 

I turn to the little boy who hasn’t spoken yet. “How about you tell me what your uncle looks like?”

His amber eyes light up, and my heart gets all warm and fuzzy. Even though kids can be crazy and overwhelming, they have their rare moments when they can be adorable as fuck. “Well. He’s tall. And-and he’s got really pretty blue eyes. And he's also the funnest uncle ever!”

I nod thoughtfully. Shiro glances at me warningly. I do it anyways. 

“Like this?” I ask as I open the fridge door. 

The guy stares at me with the most hurt expression I have ever seen. The kids, on the other hand, are, in the only way I can describe it, sending out a call. 

A chorus of “He’s here!” “We found him!” and scarily, “He still has his fingers!” Is echoed as more and more kids gather around us. 

“Oh my god, the angry monkeys are here,” the guy mutters, finally climbing out of the fridge, shooting a glare at me. The kids clamor around the dude, absolutely ecstatic to see him. Their laughter is infectious, and I find myself grinning along with them. He stumbles onto the ground, weighed down by all the kids, and just stays there, cross legged, kids immediatley hanging off of his shoulder, and Benji sits down in his lap. 

This one kid though, a scrawny looking boy with a mop of blonde hair, is just staring at Shiro and I. “Are these the boyfriends you are always talking about, Uncle Lance?”

It goes dead silence. A fuck ton of eyes turn to us. I look down and meet Lance’s pleading eyes before sounding a resolute “N-”

“Yes,” Shiro answers. 

Lance slumps down, looking relieved. I nudge Shiro in the stomach, but he ignores me. Is he being serious right now? 

“Can they come over for dinner?” One of the younger looking girls asks, tugging on the end of Lance’s shirt pleadingly. Thankfully, he shakes his head. 

“Sorry kiddo, but they’re awfully busy right now.” He replies right before we’re attacked by another series of more offensive questions. 

“What the heck happened to his arm?” One of the small boys points at Shiro, completely off topic, and then a kid who looks exactly like him, smacks his arm. Shiro is unfazed by the question, being used to the stares and unguarded remarks kids often made we went out. 

“You can’t just say stuff like that!” He says heatedly before his twin mumbles an apology. 

“Okay, then what’s wrong with his hair?” The same twin asks, this time pointing at me. 

“Yeah, did his hair get stuck in a lawn mower?”

“Did he get gum in his hair?”

“It looks like the meat mamma tries to cut up.”

“It looks more like a chewed up muffin.” 

Now what the fuck does that even mean? Shiro and Lance are both dying of laughter, and I expect another rebuke from one of the siblings but there is none. Instead, there is just a murmur of agreement. After a few rounds of “what the heck happened to his hair”, they all turn to look at their uncle (and brother apparently) before Benji turns around, looks up and asks, “Uncle Lance, why does he look like a bird that got caught in a vacuum cleaner?” 

Lance finally stops laughing, and I watch him, unimpressed, as he wipes a single tear away. “It’s called a mullet.” They mumble the word amongst themselves before one of the twins speaks up again. 

I frowned at one of the kids who tugs on Lance’s sleeve. “I-I don’t want a mullet.” Her eyes are round with fear. My hair isn't that bad. Really, how dramatic could these kids be? 

“Actually, I like it.” One of the older boys pipes up, and I immediately like him. He looks a lot like Lance. They have the same skin and eye color, except he was a little broader than Lance. 

“Yeah it’s actually not that bad. It makes look pretty, like a girl!” Someone else says, a little girl with braids and a pink flower clip in her black hair. I blush, turning away from Shiro who undoubtedly noticed my burning cheeks. 

“But the other one is pretty too, Rosie, even if he has a robot looking arm.” Everyone agrees with that. Shiro blushes comically. 

“Lance’s boyfriends are beautiful.” 

I don’t have enough to time to figure out which on the twelve kids said that, because Lance finally stands up and announces that they have to leave, his cheeks a faint, dusty red. They all protest, throwing names out like uncle, brother, and a few spanish words that I didn’t understand that probably meant the same thing. But he starts to walk away, still holding Benji in his arms. Lance and his army of kids run off to leave the store, and I’m suddenly curious as to how they got here in the first place. The dark skinned boy turns back to look at us and waves before disappearing around the corner.

After a few seconds, I turn to Shiro and say, “Can we go now? I don’t think I can concentrate and look at anything else after all of… that.” 

Shiro nods in understanding. “At least we got two things on our list done. Besides, I thought the attention was kinda cute. I’ve never seen you blush so much before.” He smirked, taking my hand in his again. I grumbled incoherently before we headed off to find one of the workers to help us get the items we wanted to buy and packed up into the truck we were borrowing from one our friends. 

I never want to have that many kids. Ever.


	2. Chapter Two: Shiro

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiro almost meets Lance twice in one day.
> 
> Keith has to protect the hamsters.
> 
> And Lance gets sad and his siblings just make it harder for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was a little more serious than the first one because we have to have langst. It's not major langst, but it's still there.

I wake to the sounds of a content purr, the sound sending vibrations through my body. The latest addition to the family is a small, white kitten called Snowball. The furball is curled up on my chest, and I lift my free arm to pet her, the other arm taken by Keith. Slowly, I lift the kitten off of my chest and somehow manage to get Keith to let go of my arm without waking him up. I glance at the clock. Yeah, 6:44 is definitely too early for him to wake up, especially if we want to have a good day. I made us reservations at a restaurant for tonight, and we both could use a break. We haven’t gone on a date in a while, and I wanted to spend some more time with Keith. Quickly getting dressed, I pull my shoes on and head out, starting my daily 30 minute jog. 

Unlike me, Keith only works out to blow off steam.   
That’s actually how I met him. I was heading over to the weights when I passed Keith, angrily pounding away at one of the punching bags, and I remember being glad that I wasn’t the one reciprocating his fists. It looked like he had already gotten into a fight beforehand though, with a bruise on his jaw and a bandage over his nose. Before I knew it, I was walking over to him and holding the bag in place so he could punch a little harder. Afterwards, we exchanged numbers and I left, hoping to see him again. 

I take a shower, washing the sweat off of my body before heading into the kitchen, making Keith his favorite tea. 5 minutes later, I carefully carry the cup of tea, the words ‘koala-tea’ written on the side of the mug, a picture of a koala drinking tea beside the words. I put the cup on the nightstand before climbing back into bed with Keith. I take one look at Keith and immediately reach for my phone, opening the camera app before taking several pictures of sleeping Keith. He's too fucking gorgeous for his own good. I spend a few minutes just gazing at his beautiful skin… hair… freckles… lips… just all of him really. 

“Keith, love, you gotta wake up now.” I shake him gently. Violet eyes look at me with mild irritation before groaning into his hands, mumbling about his ‘shitty work’ and ‘bastard Rolo’, one of his coworkers who somehow manages to get underneath his skin every day. “If you don't get up, then we can't go on our date tonight,” I whisper into his ear, making him lower his hands from his face. 

“Fine. Fine. I'm getting up,” he mutters, pushing the covers off of him. I lay in bed, watching him lazily pull his work clothes over his head. He walks over to me, a hairbrush and hair tie in his hands. Scooting to the edge of the bed, I carefully brush his hair, put it in a ponytail before slipping on his red headband. 

I place a quick kiss on his cheek before handing him his cup of earl grey tea. “What would you like for breakfast?” 

“I would say pancakes, but we don’t have enough time to make them.” Keith said disappointed. 

I hum in agreement. “I’ll make it tomorrow morning. How ‘bout a muffin instead?”

He nods, yawning. As I get up, I see Snowball mimic Keith. I smile softly as I walk to the kitchen, Keith padding behind me. He slides into a booth chair while I open the pantry for our tub of muffins. 

“Which one would you like?”

“Banana nut muffin. Please,” Keith replies, face laying on his arms. The pressure squishes his face and just… Aw. I slid him his muffin, bar style, and he happily takes it. 

“Oh, I'm stopping by Pidge’s today for my checkup. They said something about ‘upgrades’.” Keith bites into his muffin, spilling crumbs onto the napkin. 

I glance at the clock. Time to go. “C’mon. Gotta get you to work. You can bring your muffin in the car,” I add when I see his panic glance to said food. He's so adorable in the mornings. I mean, he always is, but he's soft Keef in the mornings. 

He slides into the passenger seat, and I start the 15 minute ride to PetCo. 

“Here was are muffin man,” I announce as I stop in front of the entrance. “Have a nice day at work m’kay? And try not to steal the cats again. I don’t want to get a another call from your boss.” I say, slightly amused, imagining him with an armful of homeless cats, frantically trying to take them home with him. He glares at me before climbing out of the car and heads inside the store without glancing back. “Where is my goodbye kiss!?” 

He stops short, hurries back to the car, and gives me a chaste kiss, “Have a good day,” he murmurs before stomping back inside. 

Ten minutes later I was at Pidge’s apartment. I walk up the stairs to the second floor to room 6… 6...6… I remember the first time I came here. I was confused because the room number is supposed to be 669. Turns out, Pidge ‘fixed it’ to make it better. 

“Is that you Shiro?” I hear Pidge call out, deep within the apartment. Their roommate, a big guy named Hunk, was out working at the mechanics shop, so it would just be Pidge and I today. 

“I hope so, otherwise you would be in trouble.” I shout back, walking into the living room. It was a wreck. Computer parts, wires, and tools are strewn all around them as they work on something, a new robot maybe? 

They are hunched over their new Yorkie Terrier, named Rover. “I was told I wasn't giving her enough love.” They explain as I approach them.   
I snort. All Pidge ever does is give that puppy love. Well, that and robotics. 

They stand up, Rover panting at their feet, “Now onto business.” They motion to my regular seat on the couch. As soon as I sit down, Rover jumps into my lap, falling asleep almost instantly. 

Pidge takes out their equipment, positioning them on the table. “So,” they quip, “Any problems? Pain, random twitches, or anything else,” they continue, beckoning for me to give them my arm so they take a closer look at it. 

I comply, “It has shocked me a couple of times.” 

“What were you doing when that happened?” Pidge pokes around at my arm, probably gleaning smart stuff, but it’s just poking to me.

“Showers. Sometimes at the gym or when I'm running,”

“Good, good,” they say to themselves. “Not good that that's happening,” they clarify, “but it lines up perfectly with today's upgrade! I'm giving you a waterproof thingamabob.” I nod my head, pretending to know what they are talking about. 

I settle back into the couch, absentmindedly petting Rover while Pidge works on my arm. Some time in, I hear the door open. 

“-just wait out here. Pidge is with someone,” Hunk says to whoever is with him. 

“Hunk, baby, I’m great with people. He’ll probably-” He's cut off, presumably with a door in his face. 

Hunk saunters in a moment later, making his way into the kitchen. “Just grabbing some food,” He calls to us. He pokes his head around the corner a moment later, “Would you like something Shiro? I'm pretty sure Pidge the Robot hasn't offered you anything yet.” 

I don't bother to reply, and sure enough, Hunk comes in a few seconds later with a tray of homemade food. Setting it down next to my free arm, he hums contentedly. 

“Have a good day! I would stay longer but La-” 

“It's fine Hunk,” I interrupt. “Honestly.” 

With one final look to make sure I had what I needed, Hunk leaves with a wave. I pick up one of the decorated brownies off of the tray, and moan as I bite into it. “I know a certain someone who enjoy hearing you make that sound.” Pidge says with a smirk. 

I ignore the comment, knowing that it's true, and eat another brownie, this time more mindful about the noises I make. Hunk is a hazard to Rover’s life. I mean, I’m eating a freaking brownie with Pidge’s puppy in my lap. 

An hour later, my arm is done, the brownies are gone, and Rover is still asleep. 

Pidge recognizes my dilemma of not wanting to wake the puppy, “I don't have anything to do today, so if you aren't gonna be bored out of your mind, you are welcome to stay.”

“Mind if I borrow your laptop? I left mine at home.” I ask them, and Pidge hands it over, stickers of stars and aliens plastered all over the top. 

I pull up my spread and start typing. It's a bit awkward, since I can't put the laptop in my lap, with the puppy there and all, but I manage. I place it on the arm of the couch, my body twisted slightly so I could type better. I had a deadline for work coming up soon, and I still had a lot of things I had to get done. 

Several hours go by before glance at the clock again, and I realize I need to go pick up Keith. “PiiIIIidge.” I call, drawing their name out. “Rover is still asleep but I need to go get Keith!” 

I hear Pidge chuckle in the other room, “Only you would feel this bad about moving a puppy,” They say as they pick Rover out of my lap as if it was no big deal. Rover yawns in their face, making them laugh “Aw. The wittle pupper is sweepy.” They give him a kiss before tucking him under their arm. 

I get up from the couch; stretching feels so good after sitting in one place for so long. “See ya next time Pidge. Thanks again for the arm,” I call as I head out the door. 

“Bye Shiro. Have fun on your date tonight,” they say cheerfully. 

I get back into my car once I leave the apartment, and make the ten minute drive back to his work. When I arrive, I see him already standing outside with a scowl on his face. I watch as he turns around before his face turns into one of horror and he starts to scream obscenities at, I can only assume, was Rolo. I scramble out of the car as I see the other man come into view, and Keith stalks toward him, but thankfully I grab him in time. Rolo, what the fuck did you do this time? 

“Keith, what’s wrong?” I ask, stepping in front of him so he can't see his coworker. 

“Just get out of my Shiro. He needs his fucking lights punched out. How could he do that?!” 

Keith isn't going to calm down, I realized. The last time I saw him this mad was when someone ran over a dog and kept driving. He was the one who actually stopped the car and got out and took him to an animal hospital. 

“What did he do Keith?” I ask calmly, grabbing his chin firmly so he wouldn’t try to look over my shoulder. 

“He-he dropped one of the fucking hamsters!” Keith waves his arm frantically in the air, seething, “They’re fragile as fuck Shiro! You don’t fucking drop hamsters! It could have died!”

Now that I have the full grasp of the situation, I let go of Keith. “Stay here,” I say sternly. “I will take care of this.” I march over to Rolo, who is currently hiding behind the counter. 

“When I swing, pretend that I socked you hard in the stomach,” I mutter out of the corner of my mouth. My fist connects with his stomach, and he drops. Rolo is, if nothing else, a good actor. I just hope this appeases Keith. 

Turning back around, Keith is slightly less angry, but a frown is still etched into his face. “Let's go babe. We have a date.” I wrap my arm around his waist, forcing him to move towards the car. 

I open the door for him, and went back around to my side. “We are stopping at the apartment first, right?” Keith questions. 

“Uh, yes?” I reply, keeping my eyes on the road as I took us back to our place. 

We listen to the radio, each mentally planning our outfits. We aren't going anywhere fancy, but we enjoy looking nice for each other. 

As soon as we get home, Keith jogs into the room and shuts the door. I chuckle, thankful I put my clothes in the bathroom beforehand.

I take off my shirt, and put on the black shirt, covering it with a dark grey collared flannel. I wear my normal jeans, but touch up my eyeliner and hair. Taking one last glance in the mirror, deeming myself good enough, I step out of the bathroom and head into the bedroom. 

Keith stands in front of the bed, wearing the tight black pants that I love and a red, loose, off shoulder shirt. He's turning in front of the mirror, looking at himself, an uncertain smile on his face. I catcall from the doorway, catching his attention. 

He makes his way to me and wraps his arms around my neck, “Hello beautiful,” I sigh, pressing a kiss on his nose. 

He laughs. “You ready?” 

“Yep. Can't wait to show you off,”

Once again, we climb into the car. We reach the restaurant. Well. The first floor of the building is a quaint store, and the second is the best hamburger place ever. 

We climb the stairs, hand in hand. When we reach the entrance, I open the door, allowing Keith to go in before me. The hostess inside greets us with a smile. 

“Reservation for Shiro?” I ask. 

The atmosphere is calming, which is one reason why I like this place so much. Keith blushes as the waiter leds us to the back of the restaurant, and places the menus on a table that sits on the balcony. 

"Would you like the usual?" The waiter asks us politely, giving us a genuine smile. I glance over at Keith who nods, and Paul jots down our order, one lemonade and one sprite. He disappears for a quick second before returning with both our drinks in hand, placing them in front of us, knowing exactly who wanted what. 

Paul waits a moment before speaking again, “Do you want the normal for your meal as well?” We nod once more before he whisks our menus away and heads to the kitchen. 

Keith sips his sprite and sighs. “It feels nice to be outside,” He closes his eyes as a breeze sweeps across the balcony. I smile lovingly at his peaceful expression. He opens his eyes, and smiles back, until he catches sight of something behind me. 

“Shiro… there’s a kid hiding behind the curtains over there.” He tells me quietly, nodding behind me. I twist around in my seat and look. Sure enough, there was a little girl that looks strikingly familiar, a rose clip in her hair. 

“Okay, what do you want me to do about it?”I ask, turning back around. 

Before Keith can respond, we hear a familiar voice shout, “11...12..13…” as a kid sprints towards us. 

We watch, amused, until it becomes apparent that she is about to jump off the fucking balcony in order to hide. I snatch her from where she is climbing the banister, and stash her under the table, shushing her. 

A second later, Lance calls, “Ready or not, here I come!”

Paul comes back then with our food, and I breath in the deliciousness, smiling with satisfaction. I take a bite out of it, my groan muffled from the food in my mouth. Instead of eating his burger, he picks a few of the fries and slips it underneath the table. I smile, my heart swelling up with fondness. For someone who likes to get into fights a lot, he sure did have a kind personality. 

After a few minutes of lazy conversation, I see Lance walk up the stairs and into the restaurant. Two little boys follow closely behind him as they look underneath unoccupied tables and curtains, finding… Rosie? Was that her name? The last time we had seen Lance and his family, names were being shouted carelessly around and I didn't have enough time to pinpoint who was who. 

“Hey Lance, nice seeing you here!” I call out, raising my hand so he could see me. 

A wide grin spreads across his face as he walks over to us. “Are you two on a date?” He inquires, his mind obviously deterred from his game of hide and seek. 

“Yup, but what are you doing here?” I ask, quickly scanning his apparel. He’s wearing a plain white t-shirt and light blue shorts, showing off miles of smooth, tan skin. There is also a black, tribal tattoo barely visible on his right upper arm, and it looks good on him. 

“Playing with my siblings. Have you seen any little kids running around?” Lance asks, running a hand through his hair sheepishly. 

Keith shakes his head, which surprises me. I actually expected him to rat the girl out like he did with Lance. 

“How many are with you today? It doesn’t sound like there’s 12 of them with you.” 

“Only 4 of them,” he replies. “Rosie, Izzy, Enzo, and Isaiah.” He listed off, pointing at each kid as he said their names, except for one. I instantly forgot the twins names, trying my best to figure out who was Enzo and who was Isaiah. 

I nod at the new information. So Izzy must be the one underneath our table, and Rosie was the one behind the curtains. And then suddenly, the cloth moves just a little, but it was pretty obvious that the wind didn’t cause it, and Lance’s pretty, ocean like eyes narrow as he looks at me. I keep my face blank, but he bends down anyways, and lifts the tablecloth quickly, and his sister shrieks in surprise. Lance laughs, dragging her out from underneath the table. 

“So, you’ll hide her but not me? I’m hurt mullet man.” He said with a pout, clutching the front of his shirt dramatically. I snort before I take a sip of my lemonade. Keith glares at Lance, obviously disliking the nickname, but Izzy’s brother doesn’t even blink. 

“Hey, Lance, if Keith and Shiro are on a date, then why aren’t you with them?” Izzy asks, looking up at her brother in confusion. 

Lance opens his mouth and then closes it, not knowing what to say. “He told us that he had to babysit you again. We didn’t think he would come here.” I quickly reply before Lance could say anything. 

His smile is tight as he nods in agreement and I’m struck with an idea. “If it’s okay with Keith, would you like to join us? You and your siblings?” 

Keith murmurs his consent but Lance hesitates, most likely unsure if he will be bothering us, since Keith and I were supposed to be on a date. So, I stand up and drag a table, pulling extra chairs up to the table, and the kids scramble into the seats. Izzy, being “smart”, leaves a seat open beside me where she believes Lance should sit. He reluctantly sits down, hands fidgeting with the seashell bracelet on his wrist. Keith is eyeing him with an unusual thoughtful stare. So he’s not the only one who notices Lance’s strange behavior. I’ve only met him once before, and I already know that this isn’t normal. 

“Would you like anything to eat?” I ask them once they all got settled. I see Paul in the background, and I wave him over so he could get the kids something to eat. They each take turns telling our waiter what they want, and he gets Keith a refill. 

Soon they were eating their kids burgers happily. Lance’s mood improved drastically the second his fingers touched his burger. He practically inhaled it. Throughout the meal, we find out that Lance is in his second year of college, studying to be a psychologist. He also has five siblings, a sister named Alex who was already married, and the four that was with him right now. Rosie was 11, Izzy was 9, and Enzo and Isaiah were 7. 

Paul comes back once he notices that we were all done eating and hands me the bill. Lance, realizing that I was going to pay for all of it, immediately starts to object. Keith is the one to tell him that’s it’s pointless. 

“Shiro’s really stubborn, and he doesn’t do anything he absolutely won’t feel right about doing… so just let him pay for you.” My boyfriend tells Lance, his words coming from experience, the trip to Ikea a very recent incident to back up what he just said. 

Lance doesn’t argue with me. Instead, he grumbles about not wanting to leech off of me, which he isn’t since I offered to have them eat with us in the first place. 

Once everything is paid for, we stand up, Keith taking my hand, and only because Izzy and Rosie and the twins are watching, I grab Lance’s. He looks startled for a second before he bites his lips and follows my lead. 

“So I guess we’ll see you later?” I ask offhandedly, as we stand outside on the sidewalk. I drop my calloused hand and he takes a step back. 

“Yeah… sure...” He says softly, giving me a small smile before walking to his car, all four siblings in tow. 

“Oddly enough, that was nice. Different, but nice.” Keith comments as we walked in the opposite direction. 

I hum in agreement, still stuck on Lance’s sudden mood shift. It was obvious that Lance had lied about having a boyfriend, and there were only two reasonable reason I could think of that would explain why. It was either to get people to stop asking him if he was single or not… or because he was tired of the idea of being lonely. 

Pretending like he was also my boyfriend wasn’t bad at all. And if Lance liked holding my hand as much as I liked holding his, then we were both screwed.


	3. Chapter Three: Lance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So we FINALLY finished chapter three, two days before we thought we would. 
> 
> And we also realized we fkrgot to italicize chapter's one and two, so we'll be fixing that as soon as possible.

Weaving expertly around the branches of the tree, I climb higher and higher until the leaves obscure the ground. I make myself comfortable, resting one leg on the large branch and let the other one dangling off of the side. I can vaguely hear one of my cousins, Toby, counting in the distance, and I smile smugly to myself. They aren't going to find me, not up here. No one ever looks up. However, outside, you can’t hear them coming and you can’t hear or see them as well. Their footsteps are muffled by the dirt and the same leaves that obscure me from me, blocks out forms, but I can see colors just fine. Toby’s orange jacket, Jonah’s purple pants, Norman’s salmon pink shirt would be easier to spot than the others. They should have worn green or brown.

Several minutes pass and I hear nothing. I rest my head against the tree. The weather is perfect. It’s a clear sky and there’s a light breeze that just feels amazing in my hair. It’s not as nice as being at the beach, but it’s pretty dang close.

Hunk wasn’t kidding when he said I had it bad. He didn’t know who I was talking about since I had forgotten… twice, _twice_ , to ask them for their names. Two, incredibly hot dudes, who didn’t find me or my family annoying. A few of my past girlfriends and boyfriends couldn’t handle all of the noise and attention. They grew tired of me talking about stupid things my sibling did, and they left. It wasn’t my fault, I knew that. If they couldn’t handle my love, then that’s fine. But it still hurt every time it happened. I know I can be a bit too loud and that I rant a lot and that I can’t sing at all. I’m not smart like Pidge or have a nice disposition like Hunk… I’m just… me.

But dude. Those guys are hot af. And that fucking gorgeous man with the hot robotic arm _did_ hold my hand. It was probably just for show, but still.

I hear hushed voices and I freeze. It sounds like the twins, so I'm not too concerned, but I hold my breath anyways.

“I know I saw someone over here!” Enzo exclaims.

A probably puzzled Isaiah looks around. Seeing no one he replies, “Uh. No. It was probably just a squirrel or something, you are kinda stupid.”

“Hey!” And indignant Enzo cried.

They push each other in the other direction, making enough noise to hide my chuckles. It’s a good thing my family is cute; it makes it almost impossible to be mad at them.

I let myself drift off, until I hear the voices of two extremely hot men that I had just recently met. _Once is a stranger, twice is coincidence, thrice is Fate. Or a stalker…_

The voices get closer until they are right under the tree and I can hear what they are saying.

The mullet man appears to be talking “- have to admit. Lance is fucking ho-”

I am so surprised, I almost fall out of the tree, shouting, “QUIZNAK!” and land on Mullet Man. And by almost, I mean I did. I am currently laying on one of the hottest guys I have ever met. _Fuck nuggets, I'm so quacking bi._

“What the fuck, man!” He cries from under me.

I start standing, “I'm so sorry, I just-” and then there's pain, and I'm falling again. Thankfully, Winter Soldier Guy (get it? because of the arm?) catches me before I land on Keith again.

“You okay, Lance?” He asks, concern etched into his face.

“Oh I see. Worry ‘bout him. Not the one he landed on.” Keith grumbles, brushing himself off.

I try to put pressure on my leg again, but the pain makes me gasp and Metal Arm swoops me up, princess style.

“Looks like a twisted ankle to me.” Keith comments as he exams my now elevated foot.

My face is red. Redder than Rudolph’s nose when he has a cold. They don't mention it, so either they are the most oblivious people ever, or the most gracious. Either works for me.

“Looks like playtime’s over then.” I say nervously.

Arm man peers done at me, “I think he's in shock.”

“We’re definitely taking him to the hospital no matter what,”

He nods in agreement, “How do we get all your family over here so we can get you help?”

I'm at a loss for what we could do, then it hits me. “We came up with this code word. Basically to tell each other that it's time to go and stuff. We're supposed to go to whoever is calling it, but we've never really used it, so I don't if it'll work…” I trail off when the dude carrying me flexes his muscles to get me in a better carrying position.

“Works for me, what's the word?” Mullet asks.

“Well…We weren't that serious when we came up with it, so it's more of a, uh,” I blush even harder but they prompt me to continue. “It was supposed to- well anyways we decided on ‘unholy screeching’ except we are actually supposed to screech.”

“That’s really fucking weird.” Mullet Man deadpans, clearly judging me.

“That's not the worst part,” I whisper. “When they hear it, they're supposed to run to me, echoing the ‘call’.”

He looks a little frightened, probably remembering the time in Ikea when they all simultaneously replied to Benji’s shouts.

“I'm going to die,” Muscles says, shaking from the force of his suppressed laughter. “Well, you better send out the call. We need to get you to the hospital.”

Taking a deep breath, getting ready for what is to come, I screech. It sounds like a Pterodactyl nose diving into a broken blender. Loud and painful.

There's a moment of silence when I stop, both of the men basically sobbing from laughter. Then- then they _answer_. You could feel it before you heard it. From all over, the sound of chickens in a vacuum, cats in a gutter, and a tortured rabbit echoed. They emerged from the trees like wolves closing on a meal, some of them actually on all fours. _Please God. Let me become deceased._

They form a circle around us, panting. Their little faces light up when they notice who is with me. I take a quick count of who’s here, and come one short.

“Where’s-” I'm cut off by the most gut-wrenching yowl. _Fucking Toby._ He sprints into the clearing with his head thrown back, arms in weird places and grinning like a madman.

I bury my face into the man’s chest. _Ooh. He's got big tiddies._ I take a deep breath in order to calm myself, but then stop when I realize that he might think I’m sniffing him. Don't get me wrong, he _does_ smell good, but he doesn't have to know that.

Toby finally catches up to where we are, swooping down to swing Rosie around before resting her on his hip.

He looks at the men, and raises an eyebrow to smirk before meeting my eyes. “What did you say their names were again?”

I panic, because I still don't know their names. Thankfully, like before, Big Mac steps into save me. “I'm Shiro, and Edgelord here is Keith. We're Lance’s boyfriends.”

Keith’s face breaks into a smile, “And you are?”

“Lance’s cousin. I'm helping him babysit.”

“We need to take Lance to the hospital, he fell out the tree and twisted his ankle.” Shiro (oh god that name is almost as hot as him) says in an authoritative tone.

Toby laughs. “Unless you have a car that will fit all of us I think the hell not. I know that Lance doesn't really have any boyfriends. He made them up so they would leave him alone. So whoever the hell you two actually are, you need to leave.”

Rosie narrows her eyes at him, “Toby! That's really mean. And untrue! Take it back!” she scolds.

He lets out an insincere, “Sorry.”

“We need to take the two vans in order to get everyone back home, and I can’t drive like this so they need to come with us anyways,” I tell him with a frown. “And you’re just jealous because _you_ can’t get a girlfriend and I have _two_ boyfriends.” I finish saying with a triumphant smirk.

Toby raises his hands up in defeat. “Okay, okay. But who’s going to drive the second van?”

“Keith can drive the second van.” Shiro adds. I look at Mullet Man and I gulp. The glare he sends to the both of us makes me want to crawl into a hole and never come out, but I shoot him a glare anyways, not liking how he’s blaming _me_ for what happened.

Keith looks as if he has something stuck up his ass, and he opens his mouth to say something but the look Shiro gives him shuts him up and he mumbles, “Fine, I’ll do it.”

“Toby round everyone up. Make sure they use the buddy system, ‘kay?” I remind him and he nods.

Toby organizes all the kids, and once they’re all ready, we start heading back. It takes us about 5 minutes to get to the parking lot, and as soon as we get there the kids run towards the vans.

“You didn’t kidnap them did you?” Keith asks, eyeing the two white vans skeptically as I dig out the car keys and toss it to him, and he catches it with one hand.

“No, we just have a big family!” I tell him defensively, shooting him a glare from Shiro’s arms. “We may seem weird but we’re not creeps.”

“Ya’ll are weird alright.” Keith replies and walks away with the children surrounding him like birds to bread. I frown at his back but before I can insult him, Shiro turns away and head to their car. It was a black mercedes. I whistled at its slick black body. This car was fucking _expensive_. What the hell does this guy do for a living?

Shiro unlocks the door and gently sets me down inside the car. I quickly buckle up, eyeing the interior as if it was candy. “This, is a _really_ nice car.” I compliment him, running my fingertips over the modern dashboard.

“Thanks. Her names Black.”

“Well, she’s a beauty, that’s for sure.” I tell him as we pull out of the parking lot. Toby and Keith are still parked, getting all of the kids into their seats, and I can see Keith glaring at us before he climbs into the van.

For ten minutes, the drive was peaceful. Classical music was filtering through the speakers, into the drive and a number pops up on the dashboard with the name ‘Edgelord’ identifying the caller, and I automatically assume that Keith is the one who’s calling.

“Accept call.” Shiro says. A second later when the line connects, we can hear loud shouts and screams coming from the van

“Sal threw a shoe at me!” I heard Benji yell from the background, and I would have laughed if the situation wasn't so confusing. We still don't know why Keith called.

Someone is freaking out because Keith almost, possibly, ran over a squirrel.

“Uncle Lance, Marty is playing Flappy Bird again!” Izzy shouts and I mentally curse to myself. How did he manage to redownload that game!? I thought I blocked that demonic app!

But then Rosie's irritated voice rises above the rest. “I _told_ you to turn left. If you had turned left we wouldn’t be in this mess.” She must have been talking to Keith because then he’s suddenly louder than the others.

“Just shut up! I’m doing the best I can!” Keith calls back and anger rises up in me. No one, and I mean no one, raises their voice at sweet little Rosie.

“Hey! Mullet Man! Don’t you fucking talk to my sister like that. Sprained foot be damned, I will still kick your ass when I get out of this car. I don’t care if you’re my boyfriend, you don’t raise your voice at her. She’s a little kid. She didn’t nothing wrong.”

The other line is silent except the shouting and screaming continues.

“You’re right. I’m sorry. I’m just not good with kids and you’re family is-,” his voice cuts off and there’s a rapid succession of thuds. “Fucking- if one of you kids throw _another_ shoe up here, I’m making you walk!” Keith screams, and suddenly all of the kids are laughing.

“Keith there’s a helmet on the floorboard beside you. I suggest you put it on. Benji has a good arm.” I snicker. There’s a shuffling and I assume that he’s doing exactly that.

“I feel like a soccer mom. The people in the car next to us are staring at me Shiro!” Keith seeths.

Shiro chuckles. “Just hang in there okay?”

“I WILL TURN THIS VAN AROUND! DO NOT TEST ME.” Keith roars. The volume decreases suddenly, but doesn't vanish.

“So. Why did you call?” I ask, struggling to hold in my laughter.

“Igotlost,” he mumbles.

“What?”

“I. Don't. Know. Where. The Hell. I. Am.” he says slowly.

“Turn on Keith’s GPS.” Shiro commands the car

“Edgelord’s location is at the corner of Washington and Parlor.” the voice intones.

“The good news is, you're only a few streets away,” I announce.

“What's the bad news?” Marty asks.

“You're a few streets away from the park we were just at.”

Anguished yelling is heard before the line cuts off.

12 minutes later Shiro pulls into the hospital, right by the emergency room. He turns the car off and gets out, walking around the car and to my side. I unbuckle myself right as he opens up my door. “Come on, let's get that ankle looked at.” He wraps an arm underneath my arm and legs, lifting me carefully out of the car.

He carries me inside, the door whooshing open, cold air hitting our faces. He sets me back down once we reach some chair. The room is mostly empty except for a man with a crab stuck to his nipple. Kinky. Shiro looks at the man I'm staring at, raises a sculpted eyebrow, and then looks away with an amused smile.

“I’ll be back with the paperwork.” Shiro tells me before walking off.

I sit there as quietly as I can, as I watch Shiro take his fine piece of ass up to the receptionist lady. He grabs the paper work, and fills some of it out as he walks back over to me.

“A nurse should be with us in a bit. You should finish filling this out.” Shiro hands me the clipboard. The questions are the standard, are you allergic to any medicine, what's your insurance, what is your date of birth? I quickly answer the questions.

A nurse clicks her heels as she walks over to us, “Lance?” she asks.

“That's me,” I wink.

“I'm Nurse Glenn. Right this way,” She looks surprised when Shiro picks me up bridal style as we follow her.

“We’re going to do an x-ray real quick so we can determine what exactly is injured.”

Shiro sets me down in front of the machine thingie. The nurse does her stuff, and a few minutes later, she's walking out to get the doctor to look at the pictures.

“Sorry for making you and Keith go through all this trouble,” I say to Shiro once the nurse leaves.

He looks up from his phone, “What do you mean?”

Embarrassed, I turn my head to the side. “If I hadn't fallen out of that tree, Keith wouldn't be stuck in a car with six kids, you wouldn't have had to carry me, and you could have had a nice peaceful walk.”

Shiro smiles softly, “Lance look at me,” I reluctant turn my head so that our eyes meet. “You are no trouble at all. We've enjoyed running into you.” He holds his phone out to me, “I was just setting up a contact for you. Since we seem to see each other without meaning to, I thought it would be better if we could actually plan our get-togethers.”

I take the phone from him, staring down at it like it's a foreign object. “I mean, you don't have to, I just thought it'd be a good idea,” he hastily adds.

Punching in my number, I smile to myself. These people are too kind. I hand him back the phone right as the doctor and nurse walk through the door.

“Hello Lance, I'm Dr. Harrow.” he introduces himself. “I heard you fell from a tree.”

“Yeah,” I say sheepishly, tousling the back of my hair, “I managed to land on someone as well.”

The doctor chuckles. “Poor guy. Well it seems that you sprained your ankle and a part of your foot. We’ll have to put a cast on it.”

I groan. A cast means I won't be able to play well with the kids. They aren't going to be happy.

“Can you make the cast blue?” I ask.

“If that's what the patient wants,” He smiles. The doctor is a middle aged man with salt and peppered hair. The nurse, on the other hand, is young, probably in her early twenties, with long red hair.

They quickly set about putting on the cast, giving me instructions and my new crutch.

“We expect to see you in three weeks, okay Lance?”

I nod in agreement. Shiro moves to pick me up again, but I protest. “I can walk now.” I say, holding up the crutches.

“And I can carry you,” Shiro teases me as we make our way back out of the hospital and to his car. He opens the back door so I can toss my crutches in, and then I hop to my door.

“So, where do you live?” Shiro asks me as we drive away from the hospital.

“At the Alpine Creek Apartments, but I need to go by my parents house and get my car.” I tell him, and he pulls it up on his G.P.S so we won't get lost like Keith did.

“I can get Keith to do that.” He says, pulling his phone out and calling his boyfriend to tell him what’s going on. A few seconds later Shiro hangs up.

“Keith said that everything is okay, and that he kids are fine.”

“Thank goodness,”

Ten minutes later we reach our destination and Keith exits my car right as we pull up. Once I’m out, he hands me my keys along with a torn up stuffed animal. It’s Benji’s turtle.

“Marty got mad while he was playing that shitty bird game, and grabbed the nearest thing he could find, which happened to be that.” He explains, waving a hand at the green sea turtle. “He said you could fix it.”

I sigh, looking at the tear down the middle of the shell. How did he manage to _do_ that?

“Should I walk you to your apartment?” Shiro asks skeptically, eyeing the stairs hesitantly.

“I’ll be fine. They have elevators here.” I shook my head. But thanks again for doing all of… this. You’re good people.” I smile at Shiro and Keith.

“It was our pleasure. You can call or text us anytime,” Shiro smiles. “No hesitation.”

“I will _definitely_ text you soon.” I say, giving them a lopsided grin.

I hop to the inside area where the elevators are, and press for the 6th floor. The elevator music is surprisingly good jazz, and I tap my foot to the rhythm. A ding is heard when it reaches the 6th floor, and I move to room number 666. It's actually 669, but one of my roommates decided to flip it.

I burst through the door as fast as I can with one leg, startling Pidge and Hunk who are sitting in the living room watching Psych.

“HUNK! MY MAN! YOU WILL NOT BELIEVE WHO I RAN INTO!” I yelled, hobbling into our apartment. I have only been living with them for about two weeks, a few days after I met Shiro and Keith.

Pidge shot me a glare and pointed in her lap, and I look down. Rover’s little body is curled up in Pidge’s lap and I cringe. If I had woken him up, Pidge never forgive me.

 _Sorry_ , I mouth, and with a quieter voice I continue. “Muscle Man and Mullet Man _again_.”

Pidge snickers at the names. “I feel sorry for whoever they are. Just looking at you makes me have an existential crisis.”

I ignore her, rolling my eyes. “I finally learned their names.”

“We are actually going to know the names of these ‘beautiful’ men you have told us so much about?” Hunk gasps sarcastically.

“Yup! Their names are Keith and Shiro, and holy _fuck_ , Shiro’s name is hot. It suits him too well.” I groan, imagining all of those muscles and his mysterious slated gray eyes.

“Shiro?” Pidge looks up from Rover. “I know him, he's one of my patients. You never mentioned that the guy you met had a metal arm. We could have helped you find them sooner if you had,” she laughs.

I gape at her. I could have ran into these guys a million times before, but we've just recently meet? The world is too cruel.


	4. Chapter Four: Shiro

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1.)Soooo here is chapter for you guys! It's a little shorter than the others but ya know, we can't really force words out of us. Shiro and Keith are such a fucking tease in the chapter. Like I would just be screaming internally if I was in their positions XD 
> 
> 2.)The next chapter for In Too Deep should be out in a day or two as well. I'm really happy right now that Rae is able to write again. That's why it's taken us this long to post this. 
> 
> 3.)Also, here are our tumblr accounts. The first one is my siblings and the second one is mine so you can check them out if you want. And that's it, so I hope you like this chapter! 
> 
> https://do-i-hafta.tumblr.com
> 
> https://www.tumblr.com/blog/goldifshislife

The alarm on my phone went off at 6:30 just like every morning so I could go on my 30 minute jog and do all of my other exercises. The song I chose for my alarm, Milkshake by Kelis is playing softly so it won't wake up Keith. An angry boyfriend always make the day horrible.

I quickly change into my sport shorts the ones that are a little _too_ short and _too_ tight because I know Keith will want to see them when I get back… _if_ he is awake then. If I don't wake him up, he could sleep well into noon.

I run around the block several times until my 30 minutes is up before I start using the weights I have set up in the garage. I do a 100 pushups as a warm up and numerous arm stretches before I actually start using the weights. I don’t bench press without Keith since I need a spotter, and I know how much he likes to watch me work out. He has a punching bag set up for his work out, which to me is incredibly hot. It allows him to get a lot of aggression out, especially if his co workers were particularly stupid that day.

My workout ends with me lying in a puddle of my own sweat. I get up, and go back into the house, trying to make _just_ enough noise to wake Keith up, but not so much to make him mad at me. Thankfully it works. Just as I pass him, he groans loudly.

“Fucking Shiro.” He peers up at me with half lidded eyes.

I turn to him with the most innocent look i can muster, “What's the matter babe?”

He glares at me sleepily, “Those shorts should be illegal.”

Leaning over, I kiss his forehead. “Luckily for you, they aren't.” I smile slyly as I feel his hand move to reach across my back so he can feel just how tight the short are.

I chuckle in his ear, “ I need to go take my shower now.”

Keith sighs and nibbles my ear, “Please don't go. Stay with me.”

He lets me go reluctantly when as I pull from his grasp.

As I walk to the shower, I grin contentedly. _Today is a good day so far._

Once I finish my steaming hot shower, I tie the ridiculous flower apron my best friend Matt gave me around my waist and start gathering all the ingredients to make Keith’s favorite pancakes (even though waffles are better).

The smell of buttery pancakes and coffee wafts through the air, just strong enough to pull a groggy Keith from bed.

He walks up behind me and slips his hand inside the apron, his warm hands making me sigh with satisfaction. When I pause my stirring in favor of turning around, he gives me a sly smile. Standing on his tip toes, hands now resting on my waist for balance, his tongue darts out of his mouth and licks my cheek.

“Delicious.” He whispers hotly against my ear, and I feel a blush spread over my body.

“ _Keith_ ,” I groan, trying my damn hardest to make his breakfast. “Do you want me to burn the pancakes?”

Keith kisses my cheek before sliding into a chair at the bar’s counter. I finish flipping the last few pancakes and hand a plates of pancakes and eggs along with coffee to the most handsome dude I know. _Although Lance does give him a run for his money._

I circle around to where Keith is sitting with my own plate of food. I set mine down next to his, but instead of sitting in the chair next to him, I pick him up and set him in my lap. He leans against my chest and hums.

We finish the meal in silence and quickly climb into my car since Keith is always late.

We arrive at the Altean University right before the bell rings for class to start. Keith leans over to give me a quick kiss, but I take control and deepen the kiss. I don't pull back until I have Keith moaning against my mouth. Sitting back with lust filled eyes, Keith pouts.

“We better be finishing that later.” Keith hisses before climbing out the car hotly. I chuckle as I watch his retreating form.

I put the car in reverse and head to the outlet mall. I’m not looking for anything in particular, but waiting to see if I see something I think Keith might like or look good in. Window shopping has always been one of the things I did to pass time, and since I had no plans for the day, I decided to just blow some cash.

Most of the shops are shoe based, too girly, expensive jewelry, or just not casual enough for me and my boyfriend to wear, so I walk past all of the displays without a second glance. The store Keith usually goes into is Hot Topic. I have tried to convince him to go into Victoria's’ Secret, but he always snaps at me and drags me away before I can actually get him to go in there with me.

I spot Macy’s and decide to go in for a look. I immediately walk past the perfumes and makeup, I still have enough eyeliner from the last time I went shopping. I start browsing, giving the standard ‘no thanks’ to the employee who asks if I need help. I pass through the sections pretty quickly, knowing that Keith has a pretty particular style.

That's when I spot it. It’s a girl's shirt, but I know for a fact that Keith will love it. It’s black with a red side corset, made out of soft, silky cotton material.   
Quickly walking over to it, I flick through the tags until I find a large. Keith is a medium in guys, so this should be big enough. Not even bothering to look at the price, I take it to the register to pay for it. After I buy the shirt I feel my phone vibrate in my hands. Mum shows on the screen and I suppress a groan as I accept the call. Do I _really_ want to do this right now? Apparently so.

“Hey Mum. How are you?” I start off saying, getting the hello’s out of the way before she got to business.

“I’m good, thank you. However I didn’t call just to exchange pleasantries with you.”

I don’t try to hid my sigh this time. “I know that. Why did you call me? Did something happen to Dad?”

“No, he’s fine. I was calling to ask you if you had thought about what I said the last time I called. We still have your place at home if you ever want to stop with this _ridiculous_ phase you are going through.”

“And what exactly is that?” I reply, fighting to keep myself calm and indifferent. I don’t care what she or Dad thinks about who I am with or about my career, but I do care about _them_. They are still family even if we don’t see to eye most of the time.

“Do you have to make me spell it out every time Takashi? It’s been 5 years since you threw away your chance at being CEO of your father’s company; and for what? Being a _writer_?” She sneers through the phone and I can’t help but wonder _why_ I never call her or listen to her.

“I had no interest in that position and I dislike the idea of being bored, tired and irritated all the time.”

“Working is never _fun_ Takashi. You don’t get good money by sitting on your ass all day writing _children stories_.” She rebukes me, and I laugh silently. Is that what she thinks I write? Children weren’t allowed _10 feet_ anywhere near my books. That’s how much of it isn’t rated pg. I write romance, most of which has something to do with lgbt, with all sorts of themes I know Mum doesn’t know anything about bdsm or about the millions of sex toys that are mentioned in the books. As far as I know (and I don’t want to know), her life is very vanilla.

We could argue for hours and neither of us would back down. I’m not willing to give up my lifestyle and Mum and Dad aren't willing to accept mine so… we were stuck until _they_ decide differently. Which I am convinced won’t happen.

Mum is still talking in my ear when I finally start listening again. “Even your brot-”

“You know what Mum?” I interrupt. “I'm sick of this. Please don't call me again unless it's to apologize.” I hang up the phone before she has time to reply. When I glance up from the darkened screen, I realize I’m in front of my car.

I climb in and head for the college. Keith only has a few classes so he's out before lunch usually.

I get to the college 10 minutes early, since I park the car closest to where Keith will exit, and wait. The first thing I do is delete Mum and Dad from my contacts before opening up gmail. I spend my time reading a few emails from my fans, smiling at one of the more appropriate, encouraging ones. After the phone call with Mum, this makes me feel more confident in my decision to be a writer.

There is a knock on car window, and I look up to see Keith’s tired face. I unlock the door and he slides in, tossing his school bag into the back.

I chastely kiss the top of his hair and Keith leans back in the seat to close his eyes.

As I am about to drive away, I see a familiar set of brown hair and caramel skin. I roll Keith’s window and get ready to shout to get his attention until I see him talking on the phone. As he gets nearer we can hear him talking loudly.

“Rosie what’s wro-... Tell him he can’t just eat _raw fish_. If he’s hungry tell him to eat some pop tarts or- no! _Not popcorn_. The last time y'all tried to make some the microwave caught on fire.” I hear him say. Through the rearview mirror I can see the panic on his face but he does well to not let it seep into his voice. “Yes, that’s fine. I’ll be home in about ten minutes. Oh, Rosie, where is Enzo? Why isn’t he looking after you kids?”

“Oh _is_ he now? Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to give him a punishment." 

Lance chuckles to himself. “That’s right. No dessert for the bad boy. I’ll be there soon okay Rosie? Thank you for calling me. You’re such a big girl… hmhm see you at home.” He slips his phone into his handbag instead of in his pocket where it is likely to just fall out.

By this time, Keith has decided not to take a nap and calls out to Lance.

“Fancy meeting you here, Lance.” His voice is just bordering on purring and while I blush a little, Lance’s face goes bright red.

“I didn't know you went here.” Lance says once he’s regained his composure.

“Yea. Keith is in his third year of college.” I reply, wanting to be a part of the conversation.

Lance's eyes widen. “I am too.”

Keith straighten up a bit, just enough that I can tell that he is excited. “Wait, do you have Professor Coran for-”

“Astrology third period?!” Lance finishes.

“Y'all have a class together and you never realized it?” Damn these two must be super oblivious.

They both laugh a bit.

“Do you need a ride?” Keith asks, making me surprised. He doesn't often act this nice towards people he doesn't know too well.

“Nah. I'm just gonna ride this ol’ bike home. I don't live that far away.” I glance down, noticing the bike for the first time.

“This is my girl Blue,” Lance says, patting the old light blue bike with the same gentleness Keith uses with his motorcycle.

There is a pause in the conversation, and I can see Lance thinking hard like he's contemplating whether or not to say something. Finally, something in him clicks and he decides to go for it.

“So uh, I was wondering if you wanted to get some coffee with me? I mean, you don’t have to if you don’t want to but I can get you discounts and I _swear_ I’m not trying to bribe you or anything. I-”

“Lance just shut up. We’ll go get coffee with you.” Keith bites out from the passenger seat. I am about to reprimand him for being so rude but then I realize what he just said. Lance seems to be just as surprised as how I feel.

“R-Really?” Lance practically shouts, his face breaking out into a bright grin. Keith seems to regret accepting his offer, so I put a hand on his knee and squeeze it in warning. Wisely, he keeps his mouth shut but sends me a half hearted glare. He wants this just as much as I do.

“When would you like to get coffee Lance?” I ask, peering at him through the passenger window.

“Uh,” Lance starts off, and I guess he thought he wouldn’t get this far with us. “Will 9:30 tomorrow morning work? At the Paladin Cafe?” His hands fiddles nervously with the hem of his shirt while he waits for our answer.

“That will be great actually. We will see you then.” I tell him while grinning.

“I think you should get going.” Keith says suddenly. “We don’t want one of your 50 kids to die because he ate raw fish.”

Lance suddenly pales and curses under his breath before quickly giving us a goodbye before pedaling furiously down the sidewalk. After a few seconds Keith turns to me and asks, “ _Why_?”

I just grin and put the car in drive, making our way back home. “Because we like him.”

Keith just huffs in his seat. “Again, why do we like him?”

I shake my head. “What’s not to like? You know, I saw you staring at his lips.” I didn’t actually, but I wanted to see his reaction. His cheeks turn red and I chuckle.


	5. Chapter Five: Lance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I have already posted this chapter before, but I thought it was rushed and we fixed it up so there is new stuff. It's not a big change or anything.

_ Holy shit. I can’t believe I did that…  _ I think to myself in amazement as I lock up my bike and head up the stairs, skipping them two by two. I can’t  _ wait  _ to tell Hunk and Pidge. Like, yeah, I know it isn’t a date but still. I took the initiative. They like my family? They don’t mind all of the noise and craziness that comes with me? Man, this is great! It isn’t a date, but it’s still unbelievable. 

“Why are you smiling so goddamn much?” Pidge demands as I walk inside the apartment and plop my happy ass on the couch at this late hour. 

“I’m going to hang out with Keith and Shiro tomorrow at the coffee shop!” I practically squeal, unable to contain my excitement. I am  _ so  _ fucking happy, you wouldn’t believe it. 

Pidge lets out a cackle, slamming their palm onto the coffee table. “I can’t fudging believe it!” They still for a moment. “HUNK! YOU WON’T BELIEVE WHAT LANCE-Y BOY DID TODAY!” While we wait for Hunk to come racing to the living  room, Pidge mutters, "Lance gonna fuck some shit up.” under their breath. _ Pidge why you no trust me? _

Hunk slides into the room moments later. “Lance did what now? What did he break? Is he okay? Does he need-’’ Hunk’s frantic rambling comes to a halt when he sees me sitting on the couch next to Pidge. He visibly calms down and sinks down into a chair. 

Pidge reaches a hand and places it on Hunk’s knee. To an inexperienced observer, it would look like Pidge was about to comfort him, but since I have known these dorks for many- _ many _ moons, I know better. 

“Are your tits calm now?” Pidge asks with a blank face. 

Hunk nods. My initial high has come down a bit from the normal odd interactions. 

“So what  _ did  _ Lance do?” Hunk asks

Before I can open my mouth to explain, Pidge says, “He landed himself a date tomorrow with Keith and Shiro.”

“Oooooooooh.” 

I splutter, “It-it is not a- a date!”

Both of them shush me. “Are y'all going to get food together?” Hunk asks, and I slowly nod. “Are the three of you going to talk about yourselves?” I nod once again. “Then it’s a date.” Hunk explains. 

Before I can argue, “Now it’s time for you to go to bed, ‘cuz we both know you are going to need all the sleep you can get.” 

**. . .**

I didn’t get any sleep. My mind was awake and spinning at a good 100 mph. It was insane and unrealistic, the scenarios I made in my mind. I stay in bed until the clock reads 7:00, giving myself two hours to get ready, and half an hour to get there (even though it only takes 15 minutes). 

“Hunk, I don’t know what to wear!” I whine, waiting for my best friend to come to my aid. I am standing in front of the small closet, eyes roaming for  _ anything _ that would catch my interest. 

“Hunk left an hour ago, Lance. You watched him leave.” Pide calls out from the living room, irritation  _ dripping  _ from their voice. They were in a mood again. When they have a deadline for a project coming up, they become a  _ mega  _ bitch. They want no interruptions, and they’re always good about letting their mood known. Distracting them would mean hell for you for at  _ least  _ a couple of days. 

“Oh…”I say quietly. “Hey, Pidge?”

“No.” 

“I- you didn’t even let me ask!” I cry out in indignation. 

“Didn’t want you to.” 

“But what the ever loving fish sticks am I going to wear?!?” I yell. 

I hear a sigh come from the other room, and surprisingly footsteps as well. They walk in my closet and promptly throw clothes at my face before walking away. 

I inspect the clothes they threw at me. I'm surprised to say the least. I didn't even know I had these. I pull on the loose black jeans, and put the fucking soft blue shirt on that says, “Mermaid off duty” in swirly(but still manly) script. I check myself in the mirror before I hobble out my room. The cast and crutch don't completely ruin the look, but they do make it harder to look nice. 

“And I’m off. Wish me luck!” I shout in a rush, pulling my shoe onto the foot without the cast with a little hope before opening the door. 

“Good luck.” Pidge says, sounding bored and detached. 

Unsurprisingly, I arrive early. Even with my foot, my anxiety gave me plenty of time to get there. Selecting a table that has a clear view of the entrance, I pull out my phone and scroll through Instagram. 

The instant they walk in, the staff goes quiet and start whispering excitedly to each other. I groan inwardly. I had to beg Allura to let me have the morning off, but she wouldn’t let me until she knew why; and of course, everyone here is an eavesdropper so... I take in the beauty that are Keith and Shiro as they walk up to the table. Shiro is wearing jeans and a grey shirt with white sleeves and a white pocket on the front. A little cat is poking its head out of the pocket, with paws hanging out of the top, which is just fucking  _ adorable _ . It reminds me of my alien one that flips people off. I can see Keith owning one of those shirts. I have to fight the urge to take my phone out of my pocket and take a quick picture. His muscles are visible underneath the tight shirt, and it makes me wonder if it belongs to someone else or if he bought just a size smaller on purpose. It doesn’t seem to be something that Keith would wear. Once I reach his face though, I’m pleased to know that he is wearing his black eyeliner again. 

“Hey Lance.” Shiro greets me as he takes a seat in front of me. 

“Are any of the kids with you today?” Keith asks skeptically, glancing around the room before I shake my head. 

Keith, as fashionable as always, is wearing a black hoodie with a spaceship abducting someone that reads, “I want to leave.”

“As much as I love hanging around ten kids on a regular basis, I need a break from them. The twin’s birthdays are in a few days and I still have to find a present for them. Everyone is going shopping at the last minute and  _ I  _ have to babysit.” 

“Who are the twins again?” Shiro asks

“Enzo and Isaiah.” 

At that moment a giggling waitress walks over to take our order. Shiro takes a black coffee, Keith gets an Earl Grey with lemon. I stick to my normal pumpkin spice latte, with a shot of espresso and extra whipped cream.  

“It  _ is _ fall so you don't have the right to judge me.” I say to Keith defiantly when I see the disgusted look on his face. “Plus, you don’t have the right. Who the hell buys tea at a cafe?”

“People who drink tea.” Keith deadpans, giving me a small glare.

“So what are you studying in college?” Shiro asks me, both of his large hands wrapped around his cup of coffee. He gives Keith a side glance that clearly says  _ be nice _ , and Keith just stares back unwillingly.

“I’m going to be a therapist, but-”

Keith’s choking interrupts me, and he’s staring at me with his violet like eyes. Thinking that he’s shocked or disgusted, I defend myself by saying, “What? It’s a good career, and I’ll be helping people!” 

“No, no, no that’s not it.” He says in a rush, shaking his black hair and waving his hands in the air. “I thought you said  _ terrorist. _ ” 

I give him a disappointed frown. “Really?” 

"Um, I’m sorry?” Keith says with an indifferent shrug of his shoulders. 

"I know Keith is getting a degree in Astrology but what do  _ you  _ do?"

“I'm an author.” Shiro says with ease, and my eyebrows rise in surprise. This Buckey-look-a-like, is a  _ writer?  _ Holy  _ shit.  _ I am about to ask him how he's still in shape when I clamp my mouth teeth down hard. I mean, the stereotypical writer is supposed to look like a slob. They hole themselves up in a room, they don’t eat or shower for weeks, and when you  _ finally  _ open their door to make sure they are still alive, all you see is a person who looks like Smeagol. Baggy eyes, unkempt hair and pale skin… all results from them trying to reach deadlines on time and to stay on top of their creative mind. 

"Really? What type of books do you write?” I ask interestedly, wondering if I have read any of them before. 

Keith snickers before his boyfriend answers. 

“I write romance novels.” 

“Really? That's basically all I read besides sci-fi and horror,” I reply just as the waiter comes back.

Somehow the conversation moves from what we are doing with our lives to some of the funniest stories of Keith that could easily rival the kids. The only problem with that, is the fact that the kids are 6-12 years old and Keith is  _ 20 years old.  _ Keith… I would  _ never  _ leave him alone in the kitchen. I'm looking at Shiro in horror as he tells me that on Valentine’s Day last year, he tried to cook. 

“Oh hon, I could whip you up a dessert that would send your palate to  _ heaven _ . And I’m not talking about me~” I say with wink. 

Shiro laughs, but Keith starts giving me weird looks after that. 

There is a lot of banter back and forth from Keith being incredulous about my beauty habits (I'm  _ sorry _ but last time I checked taking care of your body isn't a crime) to me saying that he has no room to talk. C’mon, who even wears a mullet anymore? That was so in the 20th century. 

Shiro more than once dissolves our bickering by asking harmless questions. Such as what my favorite t.v show is, and what I do in my spare time. 

And  _ that  _ is when it happens. There Shiro was, innocently talking about his robotic arm and how the new installment Pidge added made his arm waterproof, and the one before that even allowed the arm to call Keith. 

Before I even realize, I am licking my lips and asking, “What  _ else _ can that arm do~?” 

They stare at me for a moment before Shiro starts to chuckle once again, Keith wiggling around in his seat uncomfortably. “Would you like to find out?” Shiro asks smoothly, leaning across the table with confidence  _ oozing  _ from his posture. 

“Umm…” 

“I’m just kidding,” Shiro assures me, an amused smile on his face. His grey eyes were still intense, watching me. 

About five minutes later our drinks finally comes, delivered by Allura herself. It’s obvious she took as much time as possible making the drinks so she could have an excuse to eavesdrop on our conversation.

“So this must be the famous Shiro and Keith.” Allura announces with a dazzling smile. 

“And you are?” Keith, ever the charmer, asks bluntly.

Laughing it off, Allura introduces herself as the owner of the Paladin Café, and my boss. “Lance won’t shut up about the two of you, and he  _ definitely  _ didn’t over exaggerate.” 

My blush overheats my face, and I refuse to meet the other two’s gaze. 

“Well, we are flattered, but it is Lance who deserves the praise,” Shiro’s remark has me lifting my face slightly. 

Keith’s red face doesn’t stop  _ him _ from chiming in, “He may talk a lot, but he’s cute enough to make up for it.”

“And he handles kids like a saint,” Shiro adds. 

That’s where the talking stops, until Allura laughs, partly at my red face, and partly to clear the awkward silence. ”Well I should get back to work. You three have a lovely day.” 

We try to keep the talk up, but I can tell they are not into it. They seem distracted, as if they can’t wait to be gone. They would never say that though, they’re to nice, well, Shiro is at least.

Not before long, Shiro is making an excuse for them to leave. I mean, that’s the only obvious explanation as to why they would be leaving so soon. I know I don’t think before I open my mouth, but I didn’t think it was  _ that  _ bad. Shiro responded magnificently, but Keith? It was as if he didn’t want to be anywhere in my  _ vicinity _ .  Don’t people hang out for at least a few hours, you know, lose track of time because they are enjoying each other's company too much?

“So… I’ll see you guys around then?” I ask uncertainly, looking between the two nervously. 

“Of course!” Shiro replies, hand already in Keith’s smaller, probably softer one. “Just let us know when you are free and vice versa. Maybe we can do something next week?”

“Yeah! Yeah, that is  _ totally  _ fine.” 

Once they are gone, I look down at my phone and I realize that we were only together for at an hour. 

Riding my bike as fast as I can with a hurt leg back to the apartment, I can’t help the tears that roll down my face. I wanted a nice morning out with the two men, but instead I managed to fuck it up. I tend to hide away from my problems too often instead of trying to solve them. I look for something that billions of others search for. Security. Someone to make them feel  _ needed  _ and  _ wanted _ . I am not a desperate person, though I may seem like it at times. I flirt to much and it often causes me to lose people or attract unwanted attention. The whole campus knows me and my reputation, but that isn’t really  _ who  _ I am. It’s not like I am going to hold hands with just  _ anyone.  _

Without a word to Hunk or Pidge, who look up expectantly as I walk into our apartment, I head to my room quietly. I hear Hunk ask what was wrong, but I ignore him. I knew the both of them had expected me to come back, bouncing off of walls with a smile that threatened to break my face. How am I supposed to explain to them, that because everything went well, that was why I was upset? Everything had gone well, better than I had hoped even; but the way they looked at me when Allura started talking… it was as if I had stepped on something precious. I won’t allow myself to do that again. I can’t break what they have. And that’s what will happen if I get involved. 

 


	6. Chapter Six: Keith

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Based after that one video.
> 
> Hope you guys enjoy this chapter... honestly, the next chapter I think you guys will love. I was choking the entire time we were writing it. If it was up to me, there would DEFINETLY be some smut in this. Could have easily choked on something else XD 
> 
> On a side note, let's give Keith some more reasons to hate Rolo even more :)

Rolo is driving me insane, as usual. Every damn day I see his ugly face, and all I want to do is break his face in and bite his hands off. Every shift I have to work with him, I ask myself the same thing: How did this idiot even manage to get a job here? 

No one has ever been able to get under my skin the way he does, until I started to work alongside the blockhead. Okay, that’s a lie. There are  _ plenty  _ of people I would like to run over with Shiro’s expensive car. But with Rolo, I want to do it  _ over _ and  _ over _ and  _ over again _ , before I set his body on fire and dance around it like some sort of psychopathic teenager. Shiro has brought up anger management classes; but until I actually harm someone and I deem myself as an unfit and unsafe citizen, I’m not going to see some therapist. 

Rolo is a special case though. He never listens to the manager, he always get in my way, he talks to me when I’m clearly in a bad mood, and he just doesn’t handle the animals with care at all. He is constantly picking fights with me, which I don’t understand at all. 

When Shiro punched him in the face, it made my day. But I wish he had done it harder. He should have busted his nose, made him bleed, leave a bruise,  _ something.  _

Today I have a seven hour shift with the idiot. 

I am playing Geometry Dash on my break, a game that I downloaded the day before, which I regret doing  _ immensely _ . This is how people get murdered. I had been so close to beating my high score when the manager asked me for help. I had paused the game, went to go do whatever the boss wanted me to do… then when I resumed the game, I promptly ran into a spike. 

“Seven fucking hells!” I shout at my phone, torn from throwing it at the wall or stomping on it out of sheer frustration. 

“It’s just a game dude, chill.” Rolo’s snide remark comes from behind me, and I am instantly annoyed. 

“Don’t tell me to chill,  _ dude.”  _ I reply with an angry scowl. “This is fucking  _ hard. _ I have tried to beat this level 25 times, and I  _ still  _ haven’t even reached the goddamn checkpoint!” 

“I think you are just overreacting, as usual.” Rolo says while taking a sip of his drink. 

“Okay, then why don’t you try it then?”  _ Dumbass.  _

My coworker smirked at me, taking my phone out of my hand and restarted the level. I watch over his shoulder, and smiled as he died once, twice, three times… and then he beat the level. 

“ _ You. Mother. Fucker _ . Get away from me right now before I stab this pencil into your hand.” I snap, pissed and offended that Rolo had beaten the level on his 5th try. Snatching back my phone, he makes a hasty retreat while I delete the offensive app.

“Fuck this stupid game…” I mumble to myself as I shove it into my back pocket. 

Most of the customers are nice, but a few are pushy. Such as, when we ran out of bagged crickets, and I had to restock them. One lady in particular was practically breathing down my neck as she watched me scoop twenty of the rather large, nasty insects. We were also reorganizing the fish and reptile section, so all the signs were wrong and I had quite a few people ask me for directions. There were only four aisles, so it isn’t  _ that  _ hard to find water conditioning or a hydrometer. 

It’s after helping one of these lazy customers that Shiro calls me. I quickly hit the answer button on the wireless bluetooth I have in my ear. 

“Hey babe, how is work so far? How is Rolo?” Shiro asks before I can even say hello or ask why he is calling. 

“I’m going to kill him.” I state calmly, heading to the back to grab the cart with the cat food I needed to stock.

He sighs on the other end of the line, “That would get you fired, and then you couldn’t play with the animals.” 

There is a brief pause as he lets me think it over. “Oh, I thought I would get promoted. My bad. And you’re right, the animals are worth it. Not by much though. Rolo is a fucking douche.” I concede.

“Of course I am. What did he do this time?” 

I finish restocking some pet food as I answer, “He beat the level I was working on, in  _ five _ tries.”

“You’re still playing that game?” 

“I was, until he beat the game. I might download it again later though.”

“Do I need to ask Lance how to use parental controls on your phone?” Shiro threatens on the other line. 

“No,” I mutter sheepishly. I turn to see familiar tan skin. “Shiro, I have to go, a certain someone just walked in.” With that, I unceremoniously hang up. 

Rolo is talking to him, which makes my blood boil. It’s okay though, he won’t be talking to him for long. Lance shouldn't associate himself with the guy, especially since Rolo doesn’t know when to keep his mouth shut. I don’t know how many times he has said something that was discriminating and impolite.

“Lance?” I call out, garnering both of their attentions.

Lance’s eyes widen comically and my mood is instantly lifted _.  _ However, I am still pretty pissed. “I-I didn’t know you worked here.” He stammers out, standing with his mouth opened like a dying fish. 

“What, surprised?” I ask, shifting my weight. It was hilarious, fucking with Lance. He gets so flustered and worked up easily, it’s hard not to take advantage of that every once in a while.

“A little,” Lance replies sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck almost apologetically. 

I laugh until Rolo puts his arm around Lance. “I was just helping Lance here pick out a pet. So  _ you _ aren’t needed.”

Raising an eyebrow, I hold my hand out to Lance, who takes it after staring at it , wide eyed, for a bit. It makes me feel nice knowing that Lance would willingly come with me without an explanation. Why shouldn’t he? He’s known me a lot longer than my coworker.

I pull him away from the front, away from  _ Rolo _ , and toward more of the animals. I can’t help but revel in Lance’s hand in mine. His long fingers grip my smaller ones tentatively, as if he isn’t sure if he is allowed to. 

“What type of pets would the twins like?”

He gasps sharply and turns toward me, consequently letting go of my hand.  _ Damn it _ . “How’d you know it was for the twins?”

I smile, “You mentioned it was their birthday soon, and that you hadn’t gotten their present yet.”

After accepting my answer, Lance seems to ponder the question for a millisecond before shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly. “Nothing that can die easily,  _ that’s _ for sure.”

I raise an eyebrow in question. “Can you give me an idea of what you mean by ‘ _ die easily _ ’?” 

Ten minutes later I wish I hadn’t asked. 

One of their birds fell in the frying pan. 

The hamsters killed each other. 

Their dog died of old age.

They left for a week of vacation and forgot to have someone come over and feed the fish. 

The turtle got ran over by a bicycle. 

The frog croaked and died. 

Then the cat got ran over by a car. 

Listening to him explain why all of their pets died was depressing as hell. I’m almost scared to recommend any of these animals to Lance, but he’s buying, so I have to. Maybe I should recommend an animal they wouldn’t touch that often? A snake is a good option, but with the kids history, the snake could escape, one of them could handle it wrong, or it would bite them. We don’t sell anything venomous, but it would still fucking hurt. I’ve been bit before, and it was far from enjoyable. I don’t know how the Pentecostal priests do it. 

A lizard might be good, like one of the bearded dragons or something. They get large enough to be walked like a fucking dog, and I am sure the kids would think it would be cool. However, I knew that Lance wouldn’t be able to afford one.The animal, the food, the light bulbs… everything will cost up to $200 or more depending on what he bought. Reptiles and amphibians were out of the question as well. Except for an aquatic frog. That would work. I’m not even going to take him down the bird or the rodent aisle. They might last a day,  _ tops.  _

So no fish, no reptile, no cats, rodents, or birds.. what the fuck is left?! I scow, staring at all of my options in contemplation when it hits me. The insects. I know boys generally like bugs, but I know for a  _ fact _ , no one would want this critter crawling around freely. I take Lance down the arachnid aisle, pretty certain that this would be a good option. No one would want to open up a tarantulas cage. 

Technically, we’re not supposed to open the cages, but since I know how to handle them, I decide to do it. I tell Lance to wait a minute, so he starts to text someone while he waits for me. I go to the next aisle over and unlock the tarantula cage, carefully scooping the large spider out. It’s hairy legs flexes tentatively as I left it out of the cage, and I know I had a shit eating grin on my face. God is this is going to be amazing. 

I turn the corner carefully, tarantula in hand. When he sees me Lance saunters over, oblivious to what I’m holding.

“What do you have there-” Lance’s eyes go wide as he shrieks, stumbling backwards, slipping on the floor and landing unsuccessfully on his ass. Even though he’s down, he is still very much determined to get away. He scrambles backwards, screaming like a banshee. 

“G-get it away Keith!” He begs, staring at me with his big blue eyes. A twinge of guilt shoots through me, but I am far too amused to do anything about it. I do as he asks, placing the small black tarantula back into its cage with a chuckle. 

“You, are an  _ awful  _ person. Awful! Next time I see Shiro I’m going to tell him what a bastard you are!”

“He already knows.” I smirk, holding my hand out to Lance to pull him up off the floor. 

Looking at it skeptically, he finally takes it when he’s sure there’s not a spider on it. 

“I suggest the spider, since the family will be less likely to open the cage to handle it. Sasha is a sweetheart, so she won’t jump at you when you open the cage.”

Taking a steadying breath, he agrees to buy it. I hand him a pamphlet tell him to wait while I get the paperwork for him to sign before checking him out. Hopefully this one lives it’s expected lifetime. I’m gone for five to ten minutes, and when I come back, Lance already has an armful of stuff crammed inside of a small terrarium. I reopen Sasha’s cage, and scooped her up. I placed her inside the small cup, handing it to Lance. He’s squeamish, but takes it anyways. 

“Just sign here and then you are all done. If Sasha dies within 30 days, bring her body and we will give you a refund.”  

Once Lance signs, I check him out and he leaves, thanking me for my help. 

Not long after he left, one of the regulars came in. She always looks at the cats and the birds, but never buys anything. She was always quite, sure of what she was going to look at because she looks at the same thing every afternoon. Today, however, she was acting pretty shady. It took her a few minutes, but she finally walks up to me, her hands fidgeting and her eyes darting all around the store. 

“Can I help you with anything ma’am?” I ask politely, though I felt anything but. Before I could say anything else, like as why she was behaving like a fucking creep, she threw salt in my face. We just stared dumbly at each other. Her face starts to turn an ugly shade of red from embarrassment. 

“Why?” I ask simply. 

“I… I was just making sure you weren't a demon.”

Why me? 

 


End file.
